The Italian Bridge

An Interview with Peter Martin, Operations Department Coordinator

Peter (or pe7er as he is often known), is a regular and well respected Joomla! developer. He will be speaking at JWC and having prized him away from his Raspberry Pi, I was able to ask the following questions and gain an interesting insight into some of his background:

Peter, whilst many people will have met you and know you from previous conferences, please give me some background on who pe7er is.

I'm Peter Martin and I live in Nijmegen in (the east of) The Netherlands. I like open source and sharing knowledge.

Since 2005 I have run my own business: www.db8.nl. I support companies and organizations with Joomla implementations, support and custom Joomla extension development. After 12 years of clicking "Options" when installing new Joomla sites, I finally got fed up with it and decided to develop my first commercial component "Options Manager" (and a free "Lite" version) which is available via https://db8.eu.I am an avid Linux user including the command line and like the freedom that Linux gives to me as a user.

Interesting, so is your background in computer science or something related?

Ha, something else other than IT and Joomla. I studied International Marketing Management and have a Masters in Communication Science. However, I have always had a keen interest in technology and how people (mis)use it.

OK, so when did you start using Joomla?

I learned PHP in 2003 and started with Joomla in 2004 during the Mambo CMS time.

Given the popularity of Joomla and the fact it now powers over 3% of the world’s websites, do you think we should care that outside of the web build and development markets, many haven’t heard of it?

Yes, we definitely should care. When people have to choose something, they prefer something they know. If they don't know Joomla, they might choose something else.

Furthermore, a lot of people have experience with Joomla 1.0 or 1.5. The current version is so much improved. It's a pity that those people might still envision the old version, and do not try the current improved version.

You have presented at many JoomlaDays and conferences, often with a pile of Legos and your Raspberry Pi. Have you any advice to a first time JWC attendee who may be considering attending this year, but has not yet gotten a ticket?

Most people at a Joomla conference have a passion for Joomla, and they are willing to share their passion and knowledge with you. Be ready to share your own passions and knowledge as well.

From new people I meet, I hear that Joomla conferences are open and they feel included from the start. Be prepared to meet new people and learn new Joomla stuff as well as new technology & things that will make it more fun to work with computers and the internet.

Is there anything else you would like to add that might make potential attendees grab one of those last remaining tickets?

You will always meet people that know a lot more than you do about certain areas of Joomla & IT. However, you will probably know other things that they don't. And do not forget that your experience as newby can improve Joomla even further because you have a fresh view.

Peter, that is great advice and I look forward to listening to you again in Rome, thank you.